Eirian approached the Yin family home alone. She'd chosen to leave behind any guards or assistants for this meeting. She wanted Yuze to search the tunnels and find Emmy and Patrick, so they could at least take care of Finn's friends even though they'd failed to protect him.
She supported Chenzhou's plan to research the communications that had flown during the war. She expected he was completely right to think there would be something useful there.
Mingzhe had decided to approach the Yangs himself after Hikari had reached out and requested to speak with him about the reallocation of their forces.
Eirian figured it had worked out for the best. After Yin's conversation with Mingzhe a week ago, she'd been stewing. Yin had overstepped as far as she was concerned. Mingzhe's unwillingness to push back was due to his rule-following nature and the ingrained respect he had for Lord Yin. As annoyed as he was with what Yin had told Mingzhe, Chenzhou felt the same and couldn't quite shake the same respect.
Eirian had neither of those things nor little to no concern about making an enemy of some Lord. Sorrow had an abundance of nobles who could replace him if things went too badly.
His conversation with Mingzhe was a giant red flag, and it had moved him to the top of the suspect list.
Eirian studied the elegantly simple Yin manor as she followed the butler who'd greeted her at the door down the hallway. Tapestries hung on the walls, in the same style as the ones Eirian had chosen for the main castle when she'd first arrived. The long, illustrious history of one of the Camelia's most prominent families. She paused to study a tapestry woven in muted earth tones against a deep black backdrop. A heroic figure hefted a great shield, bigger than the figure himself, against a great onslaught.
It took her a moment to place the scene, but it did come to her. It was the Tinling invasion that had failed when the army had fallen into the fjords during the great storm. There was a small castle behind the figure with the shield that she realized was supposed to be the Camelia before it had spread to such a great size. How interesting that the Yin's put themselves forward as so important during one of the most significant events in the Camelia's history.
"Do you know which event this depicts?" Lord Yin's voice startled her, and she turned to find him approaching, his footsteps silent on the rug covering the stone floor.
The butler bowed and excused himself at Lord Yin's dismissive wave, and the Lord joined her in front of the tapestry.
"Yes, it's the Tinling invasion, is it not? The only force that managed to threaten the estate itself." Eirian faced the tapestry but studied Lord Yin from the corner of her eye. Approaching the middle of his sixties, he was softer than the younger lords. He carried the weight of his years on his shoulders and around his waist. Deep lines were etched in his face around his mouth and eyes. His hair had long since gone grey, and there was no hint of whatever color it had once held. He looked like the cheerful grandfather from the children's stories, but the aura of a military man hadn't completely left him yet.
Everything she'd heard about him since her arrival had painted him in a positive, even jovial light. Someone the younger generations looked up to, not only for his knowledge but also for his approachability and willingness to teach.
"It is the most important moment in my family's history." Lord Yin smiled softly. "My ancestor held the gate against the kid of force that is only gathered once in several lifetimes."
"The storm forced them away in the end." Eirian pointed out.
"It did. The greatest of luck." He didn't seem upset at her point that his family didn't have anything to do with actually defeating the force they'd held off. "The Land of Sorrow would look very different if that storm had not come. We would not have been able to hold out forever."
"No one would." Eirian grundgingly agreed. Thus far, Lord Yin was living up to his reputation.
Lord Yin walked to another tapestry a few feet down and stopped. Eirian followed him and found herself studying a tapestry portrait of a young man with a distant similarity to Lord Yin.
"This is my ancestor from that battle. He was the first of our family to command the defensive forces of the Crimson Army. We were only a minor family before that. We owe everything we are to him." Lord Yin looked contemplative as he studied the portrait. "No one knows much about him now. Our family has never been very good at keeping personal records."
That seemed strange to Eirian since most noble families obsessively recorded everything about themselves in a constant effort to justify their privilege.
"What did your family do before that?" Surely, he knew more than he was letting on.
"I believe they were mostly members of the guard. They began to branch out when they realized there was little progression there."
That was much more in line with what Eirian knew of the nobility. "That kind of ambition can drive people to do incredible things."
Lord Yin chuckled. "And terrible ones."
Eirian gave him a sharp glance. "Yes, and terrible ones."
"The Rock would be much more peaceful with a little less ambition."
He wasn't wrong. Eirian herself didn't have much ambition outside of protecting and helping those she loved, but she'd also been born into a very enviable position in life. There wasn't much higher she could try to go, even if she wanted to.
"I have always tried to teach my children to balance their ambitions with being happy with what they have." Lord Yin continued. "But it is a never-ending battle. The more they grow, the quieter my voice becomes in their ears."
"The challenge of every parent," Eirian murmured, but she only knew that because Min and Marian had complained about the same thing.
Lord Yin turned to her, eyes soft with sympathy. "How is the young prince doing?"
Eirian thought of Brendan's little fingers holding onto her robes that morning. The panic he still showed every time someone left his sight, but last night he had slept the entire night without waking for the first time since Finn's death. Marian had cautioned them not to get excited; it was likely just a fluke because of his exhaustion. "He's…adjusting."
"Children are resilient. He may carry it with him for the rest of his life," Eirian paled. "But he will still have a long, happy life."
~ tbc